"Everyone agrees that innovation is the only route to long term growth," said its chief executive, Geoff Mulgan.

"The concern is that today's report and Investment Index show that investment in the future didn't just fall during the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis, but also continued falling as the economy appeared to stabilise."

Nesta's report highlighted in particular the importance of manufacturing for the UK's continued innovation efforts: "Representing 17% of GDP, manufacturing accounted for 77% of business investment in R&D and 23% of total business innovation investment."

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